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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Before he officially passed him, Eugene Lewis knew he had the safety beat.

The play called for him to run a post, but Lewis knew he could jet past veteran Syracuse safety Jeremi Wilkes. Especially with the Orange defense focused on the other side of the field, where star Penn State receiver Allen Robinson lined up.

So, Lewis turned on the jets and he put up his hand, and his true freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg read the entire thing.

The result was, perhaps, Penn State's most important touchdown of the day - not to mention the biggest moment of the former Wyoming Valley West star's Nittany Lions debut.

He had two catches for 62 yards, but that 54-yard touchdown catch from Hackenberg with 11:39 left sent Penn State on the way to a 23-17 win in their season opener against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium.

"Catch the ball, no matter what. Just catch the ball," Lewis smiled, when asked what went through his mind as he saw the pass coming his way. "I caught it, and I actually got the touchdown, too.

"When you go out there, you feel nervous. Those first two big plays, you feel good after that."

After starring with the Spartans as one of the Wyoming Valley Conference's premier quarterbacks, Lewis spent the 2012 season as a redshirt, learning the ropes in practice, working on his route-running and his ability to recognize defenses.

Both skills came in handy on the deep touchdown catch.

"It just happened. He was looking for the open guy from the jump of the play, and I got open," Lewis said. "I had a post route, and they changed the defense before the play. I had the middle open, so I just took it. He saw it and just threw it out there. It was a great play."

O'Brien praised Lewis' willingness to be coached, to learn the intricacies of his new position, saying that he has a chance to be a big-time contributor for the Nittany Lions as his career progresses.

"Lewis did a great job," O'Brien said. "Lewis got in there and kept it skinny. The safety was in the middle. Christian made a nice throw.

"Lewis is a great kid. He's durable, a guy that has a smile on his face every single day. I felt happy for him he was able to get a touchdown on his first day."

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com

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